Login vs Log In and Other Tech Grammar

Has your grammar checker ever tried telling you to change “log in” to “login?” Think about it before you accept the option – your software doesn’t always make the right choices.

It’s not the only vexatious little thing in tech-related grammar that may be confusing you – and at times – your grammar checker.

Other examples include:

Set up vs setup

They may look the same, but with one exception, they aren’t – and only one of the two choices is correct in the context of what you’re writing. Of course, one could say that it isn’t all that important. Language is for communication, and as long as people understand what you wrote, you’re good to go.

But, once you know which one to use, you’re going to find yourself dying a little inside every time you see the wrong option being chosen. It frequently is.

And OK, “dying inside” is a bit of an exaggeration – maybe you’ll feel just a tad superior instead. But it is frustrating seeing this kind of sloppiness in what’s meant to be professional writing.

Not sure which option to choose? Hoping to avoid some extremely common errors? Read on and you’ll be sure of the right format every time.

Login vs Log In

“Login” is a noun or an adjective. That is to say, it’s a thing or a word used to describe a thing. It’s not a verb – something you do. If you want to write about the “doing” side of things, it’s “log in” every time. Confused? Check out these examples.

I got as far as the login page: Login describes the page and is an adjective.

I can’t remember my email account’s login: Login is the thing you can’t remember, so that’s a noun.

Log in to your dashboard to get started: This time, we’re looking at an action, so “log in” is a verb even though it consists of two words. This makes it a phrasal verb and that’s exactly what makes it so confusing.

Sign Up vs Signup

Now that your eyes have been opened to that wonderful thing termed a phrasal verb, you can probably see where this is going.

Never again will you say “Signup for free.” And when you see it written like this, you will smirk because you will know that it’s just plain wrong.

And, if you’re one of those folks who insists on everything being correct, you might even tell the company that published this chestnut that it really should be “Sign up for free,” with “Sign up” acting as a phrasal verb.

When you know you’re asking for an action, it’s a two-word verb: “sign up.” When you’re not asking someone to perform an action, you’ll go for “signup.” It’s that easy.

Set up vs Setup

Since we’re on a roll now, we don’t need to devote too much time to this one. You’ve probably guessed which is the thing or description of a thing and which is the action. No need to overthink because it’s obvious isn’t it? Let’s throw in an example all the same.

Set up your account: Perform the action of setting up.

If you’re not telling people to do something, then the correct form is “setup.” For example, “This is your account setup page.”

Let’s head for deeper water next.

Log Into Your Account vs Log In To Your Account

This one is confusing enough for it to have sparked debate. Plenty of people are saying that both are correct. However, only one of them is absolutely correct in my opinion. Here’s why I’m rooting for “Log in to.” See if you can follow my logic.

We already know that “login to” is wrong, because “login” is a thing rather than an action.

“Log in” is the phrasal verb for the action of logging in. So “to” is a separate word.

Logically, the correct from should be “Log in to your account.”

However, and this is a big “however.” “Log into” is in common use, and it does make some kind of sense since the act of logging in allows you to enter something. “Log in into your account,” is just clumsy even though its technically not incorrect, so we could see “log into” as a kind of shorthand version.

The conclusion? It’s safe to say that both “log into” and “log in to” are generally seen as acceptable: just don’t turn “log in” into one word. Take your pick from the two options. Nobody is going to laugh.

Andrea Durrheim